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Talk:You Are Not Alone/@comment-4441793-20140601020429
So, I'd like to discuss a very minor(perhaps irrelevant) pairing in Shameless that I was quite fond of. Ethel and Malik....they were just all kinds of adorable together. It was a rather odd and unconventional pairing but for some reason it just clicked. A super religious(to the extent of brainwash) white girl with a strange fashion sense and your average black boy from the ghetto faling for each other and taking a genuine interest in one another. I enjoyed their walks together with their respective toddlers, their conversations and the way they smiled nonstop in each other's presence. The dynamic of these two are so pure, chaste and adorably innocent which is ironic when you're speaking of two sexually experienced teenagers. I love how they initially related to each other simply for being teenaged parents. The thing is, while Malik obviously became one as a result of irresponsible yet consensual sex with another young girl, Ethel was a victim of rape. Some creepy, disgusting old man "married" her, made her one of his multiple "wives" and forced himself onto her to conceive their child all the while brainwashing her with the Bible. As Ethel was getting a taste of reality while living with Kev and Veronica, hanging with the Gallaghers and spending time with Malik, I can see that she was slowly beginning to see just how unnatural and awful her original situation was. When she told Debbie that Malik was nothing but a friend in spite of her growing romantic feelings for him, Debbie pointed out how it's basically fucked up that her ancient husband can have a bunch of wives but she's only expected to have one husband. I also love how Malik didn't judge Ethel or mistreat her when she told him how her son was conceived and the circumstances surrounding it. Instead, he secretly arranged for his father to kill Ethel's "husband" in prison. Malik was such a sweetheart, especially to Ethel. He was just so gentle and compassionate with her because he understood that her naivety and circumstances were not her fault. The show fooled me for a quick bit when they made us believe that Ethel was going to return to her fellow "wives" to be married to yet another sick pedophile posing as a respectable man of God after their husband's murder. Plus, it saddened me that she was leaving Kev and Vee because I thought they made such a beautiful family. However, I was pleasantly surprised that it turned out to be that Ethel AND Malik chose to run away together with their babies. While it was kind of messed up that she STOLE Kevin's weed and had Malik sell it for them, I found their getaway on the bus to be strangely romantic. Apparently, they ended up in Kansas and are doing well somehow according to a post card she sent to Kev. Realistically, I don't see how two teenagers are going to survive on their own with two babies to care for and social services looking for them but since this is only fiction, my headcanon is a happy ending. From Ethel, Malik can learn stability and perhaps spirituality. From Malik, Ethel can learn reality and what being young is really supposed to be about. For both of them, it would be true love; I just feel that fate has brought them together for a reason. I love unconventional couples <3. *In need of a GIF*